Derek Ryan (10) of the Calgary Flames and David Pastrnak (88) of the Boston Bruins battle for control of the puck during the third period of their 2018 NHL China Games hockey game in Beijing, China, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018. Boston beat Calgary, 3-1.Mark Schiefelbein / AP

WEDNESDAY

Calgary Flames (24-12-4)* at Boston Bruins (22-14-4)

5 p.m. MT, TD Garden, Sportsnet West/Sportsnet 960 The Fan

* Prior to Wednesday’s game against Red Wings in Detroit

THE BIG MATCHUP

Bruins RW David Pastrnak vs.???

Bruins marksman David Pastrnak characterized his power-play strike during the 2019 NHL Winter Classic at Notre Dame Stadium as the second-most special snipe of his career. That’s really saying something, because the 22-year-old scores a ton. Pastrnak has two-dozen tallies already this season. Heading into Wednesday’s action, only three other NHL sharpshooters — Alex Ovechkin, John Tavares and Jeff Skinner — had tickled more twine so far. The question is, who will be tasked Thursday with stopping his shots? Calgary’s breakout backstop, David Rittich, was a no-go in Detroit due to a lower-body injury, although head coach Bill Peters didn’t rule out the possibility that he could be back between the pipes in Beantown. The 26-year-old Rittich needs no introduction to Pastrnak — both from the Czech Republic, they were teammates last spring at the world championship.

FIVE STORYLINES FOR THE GAME

DECEMBER TO REMEMBER

Prior to suiting up for Wednesday’s date with the Red Wings in Detroit, Flames dynamo Johnny Gaudreau was feted as the NHL’s second star for December. The nod is certainly warranted after Johnny Hockey racked up 11 goals, 26 points and a plus-15 rating in 14 appearances last month. Tampa Bay Lightning whiz Nikita Kucherov topped the league-wide star selections for December, while Edmonton Oilers wunderkind Connor McDavid rounded out the list.

GREAT OUTDOORS

The Bruins put on a show for a sellout crowd of 76,126 fans at Notre Dame Stadium for the 2019 NHL Winter Classic, doubling up the Chicago Blackhawks by a 4-2 score on New Year’s Day in the famed college-football venue in South Bend, Ind. Boston’s stalwart netminder, Tuukka Rask, was the biggest star of the latest outdoor game, racking up 36 saves. Sophomore centre Sean Kuraly notched the winning goal.

TOPPING TINY

The 31-year-old Rask earned a slice of franchise history on a special afternoon at Notre Dame Stadium, surpassing Tiny Thompson for the most career regular-season appearances by a Bruins goaltender, with 469. He’s now just four shy of matching Thompson’s club record for wins (252). Thompson was raised in Calgary, starred for the Bruins from 1928-38, was the first twine-minder to record an assist with his stick and is now enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

YOU GUYS AGAIN?!?

It’s rare for two teams from opposite sides of the NHL’s conference landscape to get to know each other so well. The Flames and Bruins opened their preparations for the 2018-19 campaign with an exhibition adventure to China and then hooked up again at the Saddledome in the third week of the regular season. The B’s won both matchups on the other side of the planet, but the Flames prevailed in the one that counted in the standings.

THIS N’ THAT

With David Rittich bothered by a lower-body injury, the Flames recalled goalie Jon Gillies from the AHL’s Stockton Heat to dress as Mike Smith’s backup in the Motor City… Bruins right-winger David Backes will be a spectator Thursday, serving the final night of a three-game suspension for a head-shot on Blake Coleman of the New Jersey Devils … The Flames own a 2-1 record so far this season in the second half of back-to-back sets.

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